~Laurent
I woke with a gasp—air tearing into my lungs like I had been drowning for centuries. My eyes darted around. White walls. A ceiling fan that clicked faintly as it spun. Curtains drawn halfway across a window where sunlight streamed in too warm, too gentle, too alive.
My trembling hands flew to my chest, then my arms, then my legs. My body was whole. No bones shattered, no blood dripping. My ribs—weren’t they broken? My skin—wasn’t it flayed? I flexed my fingers, watching them curl and uncurl in disbelief.
“I… I’m alive?” My own whisper startled me.
The door creaked open. Several men in crisp uniforms entered, their footsteps measured, their expressions tight but relieved. Administrative staff from the Academy.
“Laurent,” one of them exhaled. “Thank goodness you’re awake.”
I s
